The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer (WGA):

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

24 August 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Tagline:

Love stings

Plot:

An insurance investigator and an efficency expert who hate each other are both hypnotized by a crooked hypnotist with a jade scorpion into stealing jewels.

Plot Keywords:

Insurance Investigator | Scorpion | Thief | 1940s | Efficiency Expert

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

John Tormey	...	Sam
John Schuck	...	Mize
Woody Allen	...	CW Briggs
Elizabeth Berkley	...	Jill
Kaili Vernoff	...	Rosie
Brian Markinson	...	Al
Maurice Sonnenberg	...	Office Worker
John Doumanian	...	Office Worker
Peter Gerety	...	Ned
Helen Hunt	...	Betty Ann Fitzgerald
Kevin Cahoon	...	Lunch Delivery Man
Philip Levy	...	Rocky's Waiter (as Phil Levy)
Wallace Shawn	...	George Bond
Dan Aykroyd	...	Chris Magruder
Vince Giordano	...	Rainbow Room All Star

Also Known As:

Im Bann des Jade Skorpions (Germany)
Woody Allen Fall Project 2000 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS (Mono) | Dolby Digital (Mono) | SDDS (Mono)

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #38071) | UK:12A | Iceland:L | Hungary:14 | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:PG | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

For her audition, 'Elizabeth Berkeley' had her hair done in a Veronica Lake 1940s-style. Unfortunately on the way to the audition, she got caught in a rainstorm and her hair was ruined.

Goofs:

Factual errors: After returning to her apartment and waking up CW, Betty Ann turns on the radio and music plays immediately. However, the tubes in the radio hadn't been given any time to warm up.

Quotes:

Jill: Gosh, all this passion in a lousy insurance office!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nastroyshchik (2004)

Soundtrack:

In a Persian Market

OK Allen

Comedy set in 1940 about an insurance investigator (Woody Allen) locking horns with an efficiency expert (Helen Hunt) while a string of suspicious jewel robberies are going on. Only average Allen comedy...but that's still 70% better than the typical Hollywood film.

It's fairly well-acted...Allen is, frankly, way too old for this (he's 65 and he's getting women in their 20s and 30s??? PLEASE!) but he gives a good performance; Hunt is simply wonderful...she looks great in the 40s outfits and her verbal sparring with Allen was hilarious; Charlize Theron looks fantastic but is shamefully wasted and (in a huge surprise) Elizabeth Berkeley actually gives a halfway decent performance!

The script is OK if a tad unbelievable. And the movie looks fantastic...the costumes and the sets really evoke the 1940s. So, it's OK, but no great shakes.